Archives | Steve Coogan

A stand-up comedian is his or her own writer, director and star performer. Unlike any other art form, there is no safety net. In its singular realization, comedy thrives on a stage—often in front of hostile audiences. For most people, baring your soul and being heckled would be a life-changing trauma. For stand-ups, it’s just part of the routine.

Calvin (Paul Dano) is a young novelist who achieved phenomenal success early in his career but is now struggling with his writing – as well as his romantic life. Finally, he makes a breakthrough and creates a character named Ruby who inspires him. When Calvin finds Ruby (Zoe Kazan), in the flesh, sitting on his couch about a week later, he is completely flabbergasted that his words have turned into a living, breathing person. [Synopsis courtesy of Fox Searchlight]

Top London cop, PC Nicholas Angel is good. Too good. And to stop the rest of his team looking bad, he is reassigned to the quiet town of Sandford. Paired with simple country cop Danny, everything seems quiet until two actors are found decapitated. It is addressed as an accident, but Angel isn’t going to accept that, especially when more and more people turn up dead.

Based on the Henry James novella, the story frames on 7-year-old Maisie, caught in a custody battle between her mother – a rock and roll icon – and her father. What Maisie Knew is an evocative portrayal of the chaos of adult life seen entirely from a child’s point of view.

Everybody has one. The sibling who is always just a little bit behind the curve when it comes to getting his life together. For sisters Liz (Emily Mortimer), Miranda (Elizabeth Banks) and Natalie (Zooey Deschanel), that person is their perennially upbeat brother Ned (Paul Rudd), an erstwhile organic farmer whose willingness to rely on the honesty of mankind is a less-than-optimum strategy for a tidy, trouble-free existence. Ned may be utterly lacking in common sense, but he is their brother and so, after his girlfriend dumps him and boots him off the farm, his sisters once again come to his rescue. As Liz, Miranda and Natalie each take a turn at housing Ned, their brother’s unfailing commitment to honesty creates more than a few messes in their comfortable routines. But as each of their lives begins to unravel, Ned’s family comes to realize that maybe, in believing and trusting the people around him, Ned isn’t such an idiot after all.

It is 1986. An emotionally damaged New York reporter is sent to cover the hometown hoopla for a local hero. But rather than pursue his assignment, which leaves him cold, he follows a group of disaffected students, whose own hero – their beloved, unconventional teacher has just died under a cloud of scandal. Their passionate and, at times, ludicrous expressions of grief attract the reporter.

Follow two good friends in this hilarious road movie as they embark on a tour of the Lake District and the Yorkshire Dales of Northern England, eating, chatting and driving each other crazy. The film stars Steve Coogan and Rob Brydon. [Synopsis courtesy of TIFF]

Hapless museum night watchman Larry Daley must help his living, breathing exhibit friends out of a pickle now that they’ve been transferred to the archives at the Smithsonian Institution. Larry’s (mis)adventures this time include close encounters with Amelia Earhart, Abe Lincoln and Ivan the Terrible.

When the magic powers of The Tablet of Ahkmenrah begin to die out, Larry Daley (Ben Stiller) spans the globe, uniting favorite and new characters while embarking on an epic quest to save the magic before it is gone forever.

Chaos reigns at the natural history museum when night watchman Larry Daley accidentally stirs up an ancient curse, awakening Attila the Hun, an army of gladiators, a Tyrannosaurus rex and other exhibits. Larry tries desperately to keep the museum under control, but he’s fighting a losing battle until President Teddy Roosevelt comes to the rescue.